As part of the ongoing centenary celebrations the 'cricket section' of Henley Golf Club took on their close neighbours Harpsden CC in a keenly contested friendly match on Sunday.Fielding a side consisting of youthful talent and timeless experience,forged on the anvil of missed putts and shanked wedges,the golf club were put into bat.Ed Birkett and Christian Whittaker,poachers turned gamekeepers,both being youthful stalwarts of Harpsden's usual Sunday side,opened the batting and put on 21 for the first wicket before Christian fell to a sharp catch by Chris Ham off the bowling of Tom Ham- a case of family 'ham and egging it',to borrow a well known golfing term.Rod Birkett then joined son Ed and moved the score swiftly on to 46 before he fell to a catch at the wicket by Richard Moyle off Tom Hancock for 22.This heralded the arrival at the wicket of European challenge tour professional Joe Templer who,should his putting stroke desert him,could have a promising career as a Harpsden middle order batsman as he crashed his way to 22 before having his middle stump removed by the evergreen Hodgkiss.At 103 for 2 the veteran Ian Thomas arrived at the crease in his usual understated and quiet way and expectations of fireworks were naturally high.Unfortunately he succumbed,without scoring,to the guiles of Boubala's off spin.All the while Ed Birkett had been accumulating runs as the backbone of the golf club's innings and on reaching his maiden 50 on the Harpsden ground he accelerated rapidly to 70,including 2 monstrous sixes,before being run out enabling the club to set Harpsden a total of 156 to win.Harpsden had generously used eight bowlers during the innings,the pick of whom were Hodgkiss with 2 for 24,Boubala 2 and 15 and Ben Hancock,whilst wicketless,with 0 for 27 off 7 overs.
After a splendid tea,the highlights being Sylvia Heath's egg sandwiches and Jane Burtt's chocolate brownies,Harpsden lost Horatio Cary early on off the bowling of Yonjan and Tom Hancock fell to a sharp catch behind the wicket by Rod Birkett off the graceless leg spin of Ian Whittaker for 12.Tight bowling by Simon Lovelock,10 overs 1 for 20 and Christian Whittaker,6 overs 1 for 10,ensured that Harpsden would find it difficult to chase down the total required however with Will Stevens going steadily along the match remained poised.Marcus Lovelock,captaining the club,kept the fielding side on their toes and Ian Thomas's cat like ability at short mid micket in swallowing a hard hit ball in his midrift exemplified this.Yonjan continued to perplex the home side a nd finsihed his spell with 3 for 24.
At 80 for 5 and with Will Stevens still at the crease Harpsden needed 76 to win from the remaining 15 overs and with the dangerous Miles Hodgkiss and Alfred Cary to come hopes were high.At this point Marcus Lovelock entered the fray with his loopy seam up bowling and Hodgkiss sweeping the ball to square leg was superbly caught by an outstretched Ed Birkett for 2.Despite a text book 7 from Alfred Cary and an unbeaten 58 not out from Will Stevens the loss of Hodgkiss effectively ended the chance of a Harpsden victory and notwithstanding some generously flighted bowling from Ian Thomas,rolloing back the years once more,the Golf Club were unable to take the last remaining wickets as Harpsden stoically ensured that the match would end in a draw as their innings closed at 113 for 7.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Harpsden vs Greys Green on 28th July
Harpsden's young bowlers on top
Greys Green won a very good toss and put Harpsden into bat under cloudy skies and on a seaming pitch. All the Harpsden batsmen found the going tough with a slow outfield also restricting the scoring rate. Marathon, and high quality opening spells from Ahmed and Shafqat left Harpsden at 52 for 4 after 23 overs before the first bowling change was seen. It was at this point that the Harpsden middle order started to make some impression with Hodgkiss scoring a quality 29, Ian Whittaker a cultured 17 and Rod Birkett a typically hard-hitting 32. A final flurry from Mike Farmar left Harpsden with a barely defendable score of 145.
Clearing skies and a dryer outfield meant that Greys Green undoubtedly got the better of the batting conditions but Harpsden's young bowlers weren't going to be deterred. The two 15 year old opening bowlers, Ed Birkett and Christian Whittaker, bowled with great variation and control ending with figures of 10 - 5 - 21 - 1 and 7 - 3 - 11 - 1 respectively. This tight bowling ensured that Greys Green were always going to have to try to push the score along when the change bowlers came on. The time Greys looked to be in complete control was when Matt Skilleter and Mohamed Shafqat were at the crease; although a good catch behind the stumps by Matt Shanahan off Mike Farmar to dismiss Skilleter proved to be the turning point. A great caught and bowled by Farmar and one cutting back from Birkett to clean bowl Ahmed gave Harpsden a sniff of victory although Shafqat and young Hoskins managed to hold on well for the last 6 overs to earn a draw for Greys.
Harpsden
R. Harris c. Skilleter b. Shafqat 12
J. Bradley c. Barclay-Watt b. Shafqat 12
A. Bryan c. Shafqat b. Ahmed 4
A. Norton c. Chesterton b. Ahmed 6
M. Hodgkiss lbw b. McLeod 29
I. Whittaker b. McLeod 18
R. Birkett c. Howse b. Ahmed 32
C. Whittaker st. Chesterton b. McLeod 1
M. Shanahan b. Ahmed 2
E. Birkett not out 2
M. Farmar not out 10
Extras 17
TOTAL for 9 wkts 145
Best bowling; Ahmed 4 for 42, McLeod 3 for 43
Greys Green
N. Dennis caught and bowled C. Whittaker 4
Cross b. Hodgkiss 7
D. Barclay-Watt lbw b. Hodgkiss 7
M. Skilleter c. Shanahan b. Farmar 30
M. Shafqat not out 31
McLeod lbw b. Farmar 5
Hoggart caught and bowled Farmar 0
B. Ahmed b. E. Birkett 0
Hoskins not out 3
Extras 27
TOTAL for 7 wkts 114
Best Bowling; Farmar 3 for 31, Hodgkiss 2 for 30
Greys Green won a very good toss and put Harpsden into bat under cloudy skies and on a seaming pitch. All the Harpsden batsmen found the going tough with a slow outfield also restricting the scoring rate. Marathon, and high quality opening spells from Ahmed and Shafqat left Harpsden at 52 for 4 after 23 overs before the first bowling change was seen. It was at this point that the Harpsden middle order started to make some impression with Hodgkiss scoring a quality 29, Ian Whittaker a cultured 17 and Rod Birkett a typically hard-hitting 32. A final flurry from Mike Farmar left Harpsden with a barely defendable score of 145.
Clearing skies and a dryer outfield meant that Greys Green undoubtedly got the better of the batting conditions but Harpsden's young bowlers weren't going to be deterred. The two 15 year old opening bowlers, Ed Birkett and Christian Whittaker, bowled with great variation and control ending with figures of 10 - 5 - 21 - 1 and 7 - 3 - 11 - 1 respectively. This tight bowling ensured that Greys Green were always going to have to try to push the score along when the change bowlers came on. The time Greys looked to be in complete control was when Matt Skilleter and Mohamed Shafqat were at the crease; although a good catch behind the stumps by Matt Shanahan off Mike Farmar to dismiss Skilleter proved to be the turning point. A great caught and bowled by Farmar and one cutting back from Birkett to clean bowl Ahmed gave Harpsden a sniff of victory although Shafqat and young Hoskins managed to hold on well for the last 6 overs to earn a draw for Greys.
Harpsden
R. Harris c. Skilleter b. Shafqat 12
J. Bradley c. Barclay-Watt b. Shafqat 12
A. Bryan c. Shafqat b. Ahmed 4
A. Norton c. Chesterton b. Ahmed 6
M. Hodgkiss lbw b. McLeod 29
I. Whittaker b. McLeod 18
R. Birkett c. Howse b. Ahmed 32
C. Whittaker st. Chesterton b. McLeod 1
M. Shanahan b. Ahmed 2
E. Birkett not out 2
M. Farmar not out 10
Extras 17
TOTAL for 9 wkts 145
Best bowling; Ahmed 4 for 42, McLeod 3 for 43
Greys Green
N. Dennis caught and bowled C. Whittaker 4
Cross b. Hodgkiss 7
D. Barclay-Watt lbw b. Hodgkiss 7
M. Skilleter c. Shanahan b. Farmar 30
M. Shafqat not out 31
McLeod lbw b. Farmar 5
Hoggart caught and bowled Farmar 0
B. Ahmed b. E. Birkett 0
Hoskins not out 3
Extras 27
TOTAL for 7 wkts 114
Best Bowling; Farmar 3 for 31, Hodgkiss 2 for 30
Monday, July 16, 2007
Harpsden Beat Henley On Damp Afternoon
Henley InningsTotal 154-9 (35 overs)
Russel lbw Farmer 26
Johnson b Stevens 16
Poulson ct Imlay b Stevens 0
Satin b Stevens 7
Kendrick b Stevens 8
Ali b Stevens 0
Neville NO 34
Maitigu ct Hodgkiss b Heath 4
Gould ct Farmer b Hodgkiss 26
Harris b Heath 3
Dennison NO 1Extras 29
Best bowling Stevens 7-1-17-5
Harpsden Innings
Total 156-3 (31.4 overs)
Adley run out 38
S Imlay run out 35
T Hancock lbw Kendrick 0
Hodgkiss NO 47
Stevens NO 25
Extras 11
Best bowling Kendrick 6-0-26-1
The captains agreed to a 40 over per side match and Henley elected to bat first. The opening pair for Henley reached 50 without loss in 10 overs thanks to some solid batting and several wide deliveries. At this point, light drizzle began to fall but the play continued with Will Stevens taking the wickets of Johnson and Poulson.At the end of the 13th over with the rain falling heavily, the covers were brought out.
When play resumed, the conditions were far less favourable for batting thanks to the soggy outfield and slower pitch. Just three overs proved possible before the next rain delay and in that time, Stevens claimed 3 more wickets. In successive deliveries, the leg and middle stumps were uprooted simultaneously. The hat-trick ball just drifting down the leg side but another wicket soon followed with the off stump disappearing on this occasion.
An early tea was taken and when play resumed with Henley on 73-5 a reduction to 35 overs per side was agreed. Harpsden soon reduced the home side to 88-7. Gould and Neville were now at the crease and they formed a strong partnership. Gould hit 5 boundaries on his way to 26 whilst Neville made 34 not out with 7 boundaries. Henley completed their 35 overs with one wicket to spare posting a target of 154.
Harpsden began their reply solidly making 33 without loss from the first 11 overs. At this point Nick Adley and Sam Imlay upped their scoring rate with 43 runs blazed to all corners in the next 4 overs. Adley had accumulated 38 runs with 7 boundaries before some sharp fielding saw him run out whilst attempting a quick single. Imlay followed him just 3 balls later with a direct hit leading to him being run out for 35. Kendrick claimed another wicket in the following over to leave Harpsden needing 70 more runs from 17 overs.
Miles Hodgkiss was now at the crease and after a few overs getting his eye in, he started to strike the ball aggressively. Captain Will Stevens also looked in good form albeit with a much more patient approach to batting. With 8 overs to go, Harpsden still needed another 39 runs for victory, but they polished these off with 3.2 overs to spare. Hodgkiss finished his innings with 47 not out including a six and 5 fours whilst Stevens made 25 not out including 4 boundaries.
In the final analysis, it was a miserably wet afternoon, but the result, the tea and the beer made it worthwhile.
Russel lbw Farmer 26
Johnson b Stevens 16
Poulson ct Imlay b Stevens 0
Satin b Stevens 7
Kendrick b Stevens 8
Ali b Stevens 0
Neville NO 34
Maitigu ct Hodgkiss b Heath 4
Gould ct Farmer b Hodgkiss 26
Harris b Heath 3
Dennison NO 1Extras 29
Best bowling Stevens 7-1-17-5
Harpsden Innings
Total 156-3 (31.4 overs)
Adley run out 38
S Imlay run out 35
T Hancock lbw Kendrick 0
Hodgkiss NO 47
Stevens NO 25
Extras 11
Best bowling Kendrick 6-0-26-1
The captains agreed to a 40 over per side match and Henley elected to bat first. The opening pair for Henley reached 50 without loss in 10 overs thanks to some solid batting and several wide deliveries. At this point, light drizzle began to fall but the play continued with Will Stevens taking the wickets of Johnson and Poulson.At the end of the 13th over with the rain falling heavily, the covers were brought out.
When play resumed, the conditions were far less favourable for batting thanks to the soggy outfield and slower pitch. Just three overs proved possible before the next rain delay and in that time, Stevens claimed 3 more wickets. In successive deliveries, the leg and middle stumps were uprooted simultaneously. The hat-trick ball just drifting down the leg side but another wicket soon followed with the off stump disappearing on this occasion.
An early tea was taken and when play resumed with Henley on 73-5 a reduction to 35 overs per side was agreed. Harpsden soon reduced the home side to 88-7. Gould and Neville were now at the crease and they formed a strong partnership. Gould hit 5 boundaries on his way to 26 whilst Neville made 34 not out with 7 boundaries. Henley completed their 35 overs with one wicket to spare posting a target of 154.
Harpsden began their reply solidly making 33 without loss from the first 11 overs. At this point Nick Adley and Sam Imlay upped their scoring rate with 43 runs blazed to all corners in the next 4 overs. Adley had accumulated 38 runs with 7 boundaries before some sharp fielding saw him run out whilst attempting a quick single. Imlay followed him just 3 balls later with a direct hit leading to him being run out for 35. Kendrick claimed another wicket in the following over to leave Harpsden needing 70 more runs from 17 overs.
Miles Hodgkiss was now at the crease and after a few overs getting his eye in, he started to strike the ball aggressively. Captain Will Stevens also looked in good form albeit with a much more patient approach to batting. With 8 overs to go, Harpsden still needed another 39 runs for victory, but they polished these off with 3.2 overs to spare. Hodgkiss finished his innings with 47 not out including a six and 5 fours whilst Stevens made 25 not out including 4 boundaries.
In the final analysis, it was a miserably wet afternoon, but the result, the tea and the beer made it worthwhile.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Photos from Lobstershire
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Lobster bowling
Christian and Elton practice the quadrille
The Chairman's front foot offensive.jpg)
Mike the butchers bbq.jpg)
Spectators awake???.jpg)
Lord Lobster and fellow dinosaur communicate telepathically.jpg)
Whittaker's back leg and 'that stumping'.jpg)
The Chairman confers,danger ahead.jpg)
Jamie Thompson,leggie and occasional scorerLOBSTERS CRUSHED IN HARPSDEN'S CLAWS
Harpsden Tourists claw their way to victory over The Lobsters
Harpsden’s depleted touring party departed on Friday last for the village of Damerham in the New Forest,home toThe Lobsters Cricket Club,a talented peripatetic team founded in 1978 by William Norris,aka Lord Lobster QC.With two matches over a two day period Harpsden fielded a small squad of seasoned pro’s augmented by a number of debutants and players from the flourishing youth section.
On the Friday night,in a keenly contested 20 – 20 match Harpsden elected to bat first under a clear blue sky which stood in stark contrast to the preceding three weeks of rain.We had been expecting to ‘surf on the turf’ and a slow ‘pudding like ‘ wicket and an outfield that had clearly benefited from the copious amount of rain to nurture its growth ensured that the totals would be modest.Harpsden accumulated 125 runs off their allotted overs.Miles Hodgkiss with 37 and Christian Whittaker with 33 provided the backbone of the innings whilst Rod and Ed Birkett with 13 each made cameo contributions.Lampard,with 3 for 7 proved to be the pick of the Lobster bowlers and Hugh Storry- Deans proved the maxim that whilst form is temporary class is permanent with a balletic display of keeping behind the wicket including one very sharp stumping to remove the ponderous elder Whittaker.
In a spirited reply the Lobsters started well before Ed Birkett removed the off stump of danger man Peter Ruttledge.At 30 for 1 the Lobsters then suffered two disasterous run outs induced in part by the sharp fielding from the Harpsden juniors.Jamie Thompson,bowling great line and length on his debut,then tempted the dangerous Noel Coward into a huge swipe and Mile Hodgkiss running fully thirty yards to his right took the ‘catch of the day’ on the boundary.Rod Birkett and David Chambers polished off the Lobster tail and their innings closed at 116,some 9 runs short of the required total.
On Saturday,after wonderful Lobster hospitality provided in the form of a BBQ by the local butcher,the two teams took to the field once more for a ‘ proper cricket match’.Harpsden,now up to a full complement of players with the arrival of Will Stevens and Kit Stormont invited the Lobsters to bat in what should have been perfect batting conditions.A large crowd of locals settled down in the garden of the Compasses Inn at the corner of the ground to watch their local talent dispatch the ‘arrivistes’ from Oxfordshire.Whether it was the shock of being asked to bat first or a surfeit of merriment from the night before they were in for a shock.Early breakthroughs by Christian Whittaker,3 for 12 and Jamie Thompson,2 for 14 bowling a tandem pincer movement of pace and spin had the Lobsters receding into their shells at a staggering pace.Some resistance from Tim Piper,who clawed his way to 23 before being bowled by Thompson briefly stabilised the Lobster innings.The veteran John Twentyman in his five hundredth match for the Lobsters together with John Sanger,recently returned to cricket after major knee reconstruction,briefly extended the Lobster innings to post a total of 77 all out.Hodgkiss with 4 for 13,Rod Birkett,1 for 7,Neil Thompson and David Chambers all applied the pressure throughout whilst Kit Stormont held onto three sharp catches on a day when everything that went to hand stuck.
In reply Harpsden modified their batting order and opened with thirteen year old Adam Birkett,the third member of the Birkett clan on display.Although falling for 5 runs he showed good promise and technique and one particular pull for 4 remains in the memory.Will Stevens with 25 not out,Ed Birkett,7 patient runs,Neil Thompson,a rumbustuous 10 and David Chambers,11 not out secured victory for the visitors by 5.35pm ensuring that the tourists were able to return home unbeaten,unbended ,on time and in reasonable shape for the Presidents v Chairman match on Sunday .
Harpsden’s depleted touring party departed on Friday last for the village of Damerham in the New Forest,home toThe Lobsters Cricket Club,a talented peripatetic team founded in 1978 by William Norris,aka Lord Lobster QC.With two matches over a two day period Harpsden fielded a small squad of seasoned pro’s augmented by a number of debutants and players from the flourishing youth section.
On the Friday night,in a keenly contested 20 – 20 match Harpsden elected to bat first under a clear blue sky which stood in stark contrast to the preceding three weeks of rain.We had been expecting to ‘surf on the turf’ and a slow ‘pudding like ‘ wicket and an outfield that had clearly benefited from the copious amount of rain to nurture its growth ensured that the totals would be modest.Harpsden accumulated 125 runs off their allotted overs.Miles Hodgkiss with 37 and Christian Whittaker with 33 provided the backbone of the innings whilst Rod and Ed Birkett with 13 each made cameo contributions.Lampard,with 3 for 7 proved to be the pick of the Lobster bowlers and Hugh Storry- Deans proved the maxim that whilst form is temporary class is permanent with a balletic display of keeping behind the wicket including one very sharp stumping to remove the ponderous elder Whittaker.
In a spirited reply the Lobsters started well before Ed Birkett removed the off stump of danger man Peter Ruttledge.At 30 for 1 the Lobsters then suffered two disasterous run outs induced in part by the sharp fielding from the Harpsden juniors.Jamie Thompson,bowling great line and length on his debut,then tempted the dangerous Noel Coward into a huge swipe and Mile Hodgkiss running fully thirty yards to his right took the ‘catch of the day’ on the boundary.Rod Birkett and David Chambers polished off the Lobster tail and their innings closed at 116,some 9 runs short of the required total.
On Saturday,after wonderful Lobster hospitality provided in the form of a BBQ by the local butcher,the two teams took to the field once more for a ‘ proper cricket match’.Harpsden,now up to a full complement of players with the arrival of Will Stevens and Kit Stormont invited the Lobsters to bat in what should have been perfect batting conditions.A large crowd of locals settled down in the garden of the Compasses Inn at the corner of the ground to watch their local talent dispatch the ‘arrivistes’ from Oxfordshire.Whether it was the shock of being asked to bat first or a surfeit of merriment from the night before they were in for a shock.Early breakthroughs by Christian Whittaker,3 for 12 and Jamie Thompson,2 for 14 bowling a tandem pincer movement of pace and spin had the Lobsters receding into their shells at a staggering pace.Some resistance from Tim Piper,who clawed his way to 23 before being bowled by Thompson briefly stabilised the Lobster innings.The veteran John Twentyman in his five hundredth match for the Lobsters together with John Sanger,recently returned to cricket after major knee reconstruction,briefly extended the Lobster innings to post a total of 77 all out.Hodgkiss with 4 for 13,Rod Birkett,1 for 7,Neil Thompson and David Chambers all applied the pressure throughout whilst Kit Stormont held onto three sharp catches on a day when everything that went to hand stuck.
In reply Harpsden modified their batting order and opened with thirteen year old Adam Birkett,the third member of the Birkett clan on display.Although falling for 5 runs he showed good promise and technique and one particular pull for 4 remains in the memory.Will Stevens with 25 not out,Ed Birkett,7 patient runs,Neil Thompson,a rumbustuous 10 and David Chambers,11 not out secured victory for the visitors by 5.35pm ensuring that the tourists were able to return home unbeaten,unbended ,on time and in reasonable shape for the Presidents v Chairman match on Sunday .
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